I.B. residents call for action from SANDAG

IMPERIAL BEACH  Imperial Beach residents called on SANDAG Wednesday to do more to solve the flooding problem that has plagued coastal homes since the regional agency finished a beach sand replenishment project in October.

SANDAG Project Manager Shelby Tucker and a contract engineer attended the City Council meeting to respond to questions and concerns from the community. Some of the issues raised repeated those brought up at a January council meeting. New was the complaint that SANDAG’s attempts to alleviate the flooding don’t appear to be helping.

Dozens of condominium buildings along Seacoast Drive have been in a semi-permanent flood state for days and even weeks after especially high tides.

In January residents just wanted SANDAG to do something. The agency signed a memorandum of agreement with the city to help cut trenches through a steep berm formed by the new sand, that would allow water to flow back out to sea instead of collecting in ponds on the beach. Work crews also attempted to regrade the beach to slope away from homes in certain spots. But foundations are still saturated, garages flooded and residents’ fears mounting.

Now they want the agency to do something different, to find an expert who can study and identify what went wrong with the project, and to hire someone to survey the damage it has caused on private property.

“We don’t want any punitive damages,” said homeowner Bob Hanson. “We just want them to fix the problem. I think they owe us a hydrologist.”

A hydrology study is necessary, he said, because SANDAG has failed to identify what went wrong and why.

“I think SANDAG did a lousy job, and I think the engineers did a lousier job,” he said.

Tucker told the council and residents that she would gladly take their requests back to her superiors at SANDAG and try to figure out next steps. Meanwhile, she said, crews are closely monitoring the beach and the flooding and responding as quickly and effectively as possible. The problem, she said, is that it is not clear what is causing the flooding.

“SANDAG has requested opinions from a variety of sources, and their opinions have confirmed that our initial design was appropriate,” Tucker said.

She added that SANDAG needs to be deliberate, because any action it takes could have its own set of consequences for both residents and the environment.

Resident Robin Clegg was skeptical about the agency’s claim that regrading the beach entirely wouldn’t solve the problem.

“Why would I believe you and SANDAG... when your project was a complete failure?” she asked. Councilman Edward Spriggs, who lives in a home affected by the flooding, recused himself from the council discussion about private property damage in order to speak as a member of the public.

He joined the residents in their call for a hydrology study.

“SANDAG should pay for this, not the owners,” he said. “This wasn’t caused by the owners. This was a man-made project.”

Councilwoman Lori Bragg pressed Tucker to do something.

“We’re at a point where we need some kind of action,” Bragg said. “The ‘wait and see’ approach can only bring more damage. These requests for hydrology and engineering studies, these are very legitimate requests.”